10 Greatest Engines You Could Buy in 2015

The all-important question among gearheads has always been, “What’s it got?” If the answer is one of the 10 engines listed here, it’s got a lot. In 2015 these engines were power plants that offered a winning combination of performance and personality, and they covered a wide variety of configurations, with three, four, six, eight, or even twelve cylinders. You’ll notice, however, that we steered clear of the gasoline-versus-diesel debate by concentrating exclusively on gas-burners. We’re big fans of diesels, too, but that’s a discussion for another day. Without further ado and presented in no particular order, here are our 10 favorite production engines from 2015.

6.2 liters. 707 horsepower. 650 lb-ft of torque. Dodge’s supercharged Hellcat V-8 is all about big numbers. Force-fed with up to 30,000 liters of air per minute by its twin-screw IHI supercharger and up to roughly one pint of fuel every six seconds, it relies on a cast-iron block and beefy, Hellcat-specific internals to keep the combustion on the inside.

The induction-hardened forged-steel crankshaft rotates on five main bearings, each secured with four-bolt caps. Forged-aluminum pistons connect to powder-forged steel connecting rods via 24-mm wrist pins with a diamond-like low-friction coating. The Hellcat shares its lineage with Chrysler’s 5.7-, 6.1-, and 6.4-liter V-8 Hemi engines, but more than 90 percent of the components (by value, not parts count) are unique. Find it in Dodge’s Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat models. —Andrew Wendler

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Ford Turbocharged 1.0-liter Inline-3 | Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus

The old trope about something sounding impressive “on paper” typically is followed by a backpedal, as in, “but in reality . . .” But Ford’s tiny 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder EcoBoost engine is as impressive in the metal as it is in ink. Producing 123 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque from just 999 cubic centimeters of displacement, the EcoBoost gifts the Fiesta and even the larger Focus with stellar EPA fuel economy and tractable around-town performance.

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Ford Turbocharged 1.0-liter Inline-3 | Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus

We will say that the 1.0-liter EcoBoost is more fun in the smaller Fiesta, but in either engine bay, the motor mitigates the typical vibration and roughness of the three-cylinder layout with clever flywheel and crank-pulley counterweighting, which means counter-rotating balance shafts aren’t necessary, reducing complexity. It even emits a fun little growl when pressed, and—we love this—it’s available in the U.S. with a manual transmission only. —Alexander Stoklosa

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VW/Audi Turbocharged 2.0-liter Inline-4 | Too Many Vehicles to List

We’ve enjoyed VW and Audi’s shared, gas-fed 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinders for years, and now the Audi-engineered engine has recently been refreshed (it goes by the internal code EA888). It still exhibits the same splendid refinement and virtually nonexistent turbo lag as before, and it also makes more power.

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VW/Audi Turbocharged 2.0-liter Inline-4 | Too Many Vehicles to List

That said, it’s never been the burliest engine among its competitive set, and the same holds true today, as the workaday version trails identically sized turbocharged engines from BMW, Ford, and Mercedes-Benz. Yet the EA888’s smooth and tractable power output, dapper personality, and pleasing thrum win the day, and it remains sin-free even when juiced to nearly 300 horsepower as installed in the VW Golf R and the Audi S3. —Alexander Stoklosa

Ferrari’s new family of turbo V-8s is called the F154, and separate versions of this 3.9-liter unit get bolted into both the California T convertible and the mid-engine 488GTB. The latter car boasts an additional 109 horsepower, for 661 (or an astonishing 170 horses per liter), thanks to various improvements.

Being moved from in front of the cockpit to behind it allows Ferrari to fix some compromises for packaging, including running a taller intake manifold for more ram-air effect and more optimized turbo plumbing with close-coupled intercoolers. The twin-scroll IHI turbos are different, too, from those in the California T, with shafts supported by ball bearings, abradable seals for ultimate compressor efficiency, and lighter titanium-aluminide turbines for faster spin-up. Stronger and lighter pistons accept the higher boost pressures, while revised cylinder heads have thinner walls near the combustion chamber for better cooling. As with any Ferrari, sound was both a priority and a huge challenge with the muffling turbos, but by straightening the pipes as much as possible and reducing the size of other mufflers, Ferrari is able to preserve much of its trademark wail despite the blowers. —Aaron Robinson

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Lamborghini 6.5-liter V-12 | Lamborghini Aventador

Lamborghini has been in the V-12 business for 51 years, and for most of that time the V-12s the company produced were direct lineal descendants of Giotto Bizzarrini’s original 3.5-liter aluminum unit from 1964. However, the current V-12, the L539, introduced with the Aventador in 2011, was drawn from a mostly blank sheet, sharing only the cylinder count, 60-degree V-angle, and firing order. The rest of this dry-sump, 8250-rpm, 691-hp gorgon is new, including a 40-pound weight reduction to 518 pounds and engine stop-start and cylinder-deactivation systems for improved fuel economy (in a Lambo!).

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Lamborghini 6.5-liter V-12 | Lamborghini Aventador

The power figures come partly from a stratospheric 11.8:1 compression ratio, along with a motorcycle-like stroke of 76.4 mm against a bore of 95 mm, which allows the engine to rev up higher and faster. The port injection in this four-cam, 48-valve engine is slightly old-school, but the Aventador SV makes 740 horses with it (and 509 lb-ft of torque) using revised cam timing, a straighter exhaust, and a higher, 8500-rpm redline. As in the old days, Lamborghini has produced a classic, short-stroke Italian screamer with an unmistakable head-turning shriek as it revs for its power. Turbos might be in Lamborghini’s future, but until then, this throwback gloriously preserves the old ways. —Aaron Robinson

The little beast first reared its head between the fenders of the A-class–based A45 AMG that isn’t sold here. Then, like a rabid, tweaking groundhog, it popped up on our shores powering the CLA45 AMG for 2014. A year later, the more fun GLA45 AMG hatchback surfaced. Known to zee Germans as the M133, this 2.0-liter four-banger features a turbo that shoves a healthy dose of air into its cylinders at 26.1 psi. That’s a whole lotta boost.

355 horsepower is a honkin’ heaping of power for such a little thing, too. But with Ford and VW ramping up the juice in their own four-bangers, Mercedes has turned up the wick even further for 2016: Next year’s version of the M133 will make 375 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. Dang. —Davey G. Johnson

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BMW Twin-Turbocharged 3.0-liter Inline-6 | BMW M3, BMW M4

BMW M engines have always been special, and the M3 and M4’s S55 is no exception. It’s truly special. The standout features, in no particular order: closed deck construction, a magnesium oil pan, a forged steel crankshaft, and iron-plasma cylinder-bore surfaces. Never mind that it makes 425 horsepower, giving it the specific output of 143 horses per liter, or makes its 406 lb-ft of torque at 1850 rpm, the twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 makes this list because of its power delivery. We’re not talking about the carbon-fiber driveshaft that transmits torque to the rear wheels; turbocharged engines that don’t fall off a power cliff near their redline (the S55’s is 7500 rpm) are few and far between.

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BMW Twin-Turbocharged 3.0-liter Inline-6 | BMW M3, BMW M4

This one pulls as hard at 7000 rpm as it does at 2000. Plus, BMW says it has a water-injection system in development for this engine that will further increase power. Now we just need BMW to stop augmenting engine sounds with the audio system so we can hear the S55’s scintillatingly raspy sound au naturel. —K.C. Colwell

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Porsche 3.8-/4.0-liter Flat-Six | Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche 911 GT3 RS

This engine is a modified version of the flat-six found in the 911 Carrera and Carrera S, and therefore is the first GT3/GT3 RS engine to not use the older, race-proven design of Hans Mezger. That’s not to say it’s not wicked. It revs to 9000 rpm, for example, and no other engine on this list can spin that quickly. And so much has been altered for installation in the new, 475-hp GT3 and the more powerful GT3 RS that it doesn’t really share much with the standard 911 powerplant.

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Porsche 3.8-/4.0-liter Flat-Six | Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche 911 GT3 RS

New heads with finger-followers between the valves and the camshafts allow for precise valve operation at high rpm. There’s variable valve timing on the exhaust side, larger intake and exhaust ports, higher-pressure fuel injection, ram-air intake, and a less restrictive exhaust. To keep the forged-aluminum pistons attached to the GT3’s unique crankshaft at 9000 rpm, the connecting rods are made of titanium. In the GT3, a two-stage intake opens two resonance pipes at 4000 rpm. The engine begins to transform from a snarly, popping firecracker into a gritty, ear-assaulting masterpiece. Indeed, when 9000 rpm arrives, the sound coming from the back of the car sounds as if it might shatter the windows. A longer stroke translates to the 4.0-liter displacement of the RS version. That, plus careful tuning, raise output to 500 horsepower, but the RS’s longer stroke reduces the redline to a still-impressive 8800 rpm. We only wish there were a manual transmission available with either version. —Tony Quiroga

It’s tough not to love any engine that produces 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, especially when its brute force is delivered linearly, predictably, and with the classic Chevy small-block V-8 rumble. And we definitely love the Chevy Corvette Z06’s supercharged LT4 V-8, which GM says is among the very lightest and most compact engines capable of such prodigious output. Displacing the same 6.2 liters as the naturally aspirated fifth-generation small-block V-8 that powers regular Corvette Stingray models (more details on that engine here), the LT4 runs a maximum boost of 9.4 psi to produce as much as 200 more horsepower. (Fun fact: The LT4’s Eaton supercharger stuffs four lobes into a 1.74-liter blower.)

The engine’s overall dimensions are barely larger than those of the nonsupercharged Chevy V-8—the blower adds less than one inch to the overall height of the regular small-block—and weight is up by just 75 pounds. A technical tour de force, the LT4 not only powers the Z06 coupe to 60 mph in 3.0 seconds (the convertible can do 3.1), but it also can now be found under the hood of the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V. While it makes slightly less power in the Caddy, the blown V-8 nonetheless is capable of punting the big sedan to a claimed 200-plus-mph top speed. —Alexander Stoklosa

As turbocharging becomes increasingly pervasive, we’ve noticed a trend emerge. Call it the rise of the generic German turbo V-8. The huffed eights from BMW, Audi, and Porsche are practically interchangeable in terms of character unless driven back-to-back, when the nuances can be picked apart. The exception? The Mercedes-AMG versions of the new Mercedes-Benz 4.0-liter, dubbed M177 in the C63 and M178 in the AMG GT S.

The GT C's engine also has more in common with the GT R's than with the one in the base and S versions of the GT. Those two cars share a common turbo and intercooler package and have been uprated slightly for this year, with the base engine now developing 469 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 465 lb-ft of torque at 1700 rpm, while the S makes 515 ponies at 6250 and 494 lb-ft at 1800.

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